🪡 Drop the Needle
Reverse audio search — find cleared samples that sound like a song
Drop in any audio clip — your demo, a YouTube grab, anything — and we’ll find public-domain and CC0 samples that sound like it. Powered by audio embeddings over the entire Selekt catalog.
Each search is 25¢ — about a quarter. Browsing and downloading the catalog is always free; the charge covers running your clip through a neural audio model, distilling it into a high-dimensional acoustic profile, and matching it across the catalog by similarity — about 20 ranked results per search.
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Drop an audio clip here
MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, OGG · up to 200 MB · auto-deletes after 24 hours
Reverse audio search that finds similar sounds — not song ID, not an audio reverser.
Search by sound
Drop in any clip and we match it by how it actually sounds — timbre, texture, tone — not by tags or keywords.
Audio embeddings
Your clip becomes a high-dimensional acoustic profile, then matched across the catalog by pure similarity. Sounds find sounds.
BPM & key aware
We read your clip's tempo and key on the spot — filter matches to a compatible tempo or key and they drop straight into your project.
Everything's cleared
Matches come only from public-domain and CC0 samples. Chop it, flip it, release it — the paperwork's already done.
Follow the sound
Love a match? Hit “more like this” and keep digging — every result opens a door to a closer one.
Try it free
Start a free 14-day trial — no credit card needed. You get credits to run searches on us.
Start free trial →How it works
- Drop in a clip. Drag in any audio — a demo, a reference track, a clip you grabbed.
- Set a 5–10s window. Drag on the waveform to pick the snippet to analyze. A short, focused section gives the sharpest matches.
- Match BPM & key (optional). We detect your clip's tempo and key locally — filter results to a compatible tempo or key.
- Get your matches. We return cleared CC0 / public-domain samples ranked by how similar they sound, ready to preview and download.
How do I find samples that sound like another song?
Drop the Needle is a reverse audio search: drop in any audio clip and it finds cleared samples that sound like it. Instead of typing keywords, you give it a sound — your demo, a reference track, a clip you grabbed — and it searches the Selekt catalog by how the audio actually feels, using audio embeddings. Every match is a public-domain or CC0 sample you can preview, filter by BPM and key, and download.
Common use cases
- Find a cleared stand-in for a sample you can’t license — drop the part you love and surface samples that sound like it.
- Match a reference track — pull cleared samples in the same sonic ballpark as a song you’re chasing.
- Fill out a beat — filter results to your project’s BPM and key so a match drops straight in.
- Dig deeper — hit “more like this” on any result to follow a sound down a rabbit hole.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find samples that sound like another song?
Drop in any audio clip — a demo, a YouTube grab, a reference track — and Drop the Needle searches the Selekt catalog for cleared samples that sound like it. It listens to the actual texture and timbre of your clip using audio embeddings, so the matches resemble how the sound feels, not just its tags. Every result is a public-domain or CC0 sample you can preview and download.
What is reverse audio search?
Reverse audio search finds music by sound instead of by text. Rather than typing keywords, you give it an audio clip and it returns recordings that are sonically similar. Drop the Needle does this across thousands of cleared samples, ranking each match by similarity and letting you keep drilling in with "more like this."
Can I match a sample to the BPM and key of my project?
Yes. When you upload a clip, Drop the Needle detects its BPM and key locally, then lets you optionally filter the results so only samples in a compatible tempo or key come back. That makes it easy to find a cleared sample that drops straight into your beat.
Are the samples it finds cleared for use?
Every match comes from the Selekt catalog, which is sourced from public-domain, CC0, and CC-BY contributors. Each sample ships with a license certificate showing its source and license type, so you can sample, chop, and release with documentation behind it.
Do I need to upload the whole song?
No — a focused 5 to 10 second window works best. After you drop in a clip you drag on the waveform to pick the snippet to analyze; a short, representative section gives sharper matches than passing a full track.
Is this like Shazam — will it tell me the name of a song?
No. Shazam and song-ID tools identify a known recording and hand you its title and artist. Drop the Needle does the opposite kind of search: you give it a sound, and it finds other cleared samples that resemble it — by timbre and texture, not by matching a fingerprint to a song database. It won't name your track; it surfaces new material that sounds like it.
Does it reverse my audio or play it backwards?
No — that is an audio reverser, a different kind of tool. Drop the Needle never alters your file. It analyzes the sound of your clip and searches our cleared catalog for samples that sound similar, ranked by how closely they match.
Looking for a specific instrument instead? Explore the catalog or try Describe & Find to search cleared samples in plain language.
